Local Government

Daily Buzz | September is Town Meeting Season

But what exactly is Town Meeting?

Nicci Kadilak

Sep 5, 2023 — 2 min read

Good Morning, Burlington!

September is here (like it or not), and that means a new Town Meeting is on the horizon. But if you’re new to this form of government, you might be wondering what Town Meeting actually does in our town and why it’s so important. For all of September, the Buzz will be bringing you information about Town Meeting, including what it is, when it is, and what the body will be voting on this September.

First we’ll be getting a handle on what Town Meeting is, but in order to do that, we need to know what a town in Massachusetts actually is and how it compares to a city with respect to its governance structure.

Cities and towns are the two kinds of municipalities in Massachusetts, and you’d be right to wonder if population has something to do with the distinction. Like most things, the answer isn’t a clear yes or no. Towns do tend to be smaller, while cities tend to be bigger, but there is a huge region of overlap where there are both cities and towns at a given population.

So what makes towns and cities different? In a word, legislation.

The two major forms of legislative bodies in our state are a Mayor-City Council structure and a Town Meeting structure. If the Town Meeting structure starts to seem unwieldy and ineffective for a town, it can choose (after a lengthy and involved process) to convert to a city form of government. The default, however, is Town Meeting, which is the oldest and most democratic institution.

There are two kinds of Town Meetings: Open and Representative. Open is exactly what it sounds like: Any citizen of the town can show up and vote. Representative is also self-explanatory: The people elect representatives to vote for them at Town Meeting.

But what exactly are they voting on? Find out more at one of the Buzz’s oldest stories or at the next explainer in a couple of days.

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Today in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

1:00 PM - Fox Hill School Building Project - Executive Working Group) (BHS)
6:00 PM - Elementary School Building Committee will review feedback on the criteria matrix they’ll be using to facilitate decisionmaking about how to proceed with the school building process. They’ll also prepare for the upcoming community forum. (BHS and Virtual)
6:00 PM - Human Services Committee (Grand View Farm)
6:00 PM - Free Cornhole Tournament at 3rd Ave.
6:30 PM - Basic English Class - Burlington Public Library is so pleased to offer our first-ever free Basic English course. The course meets for 12 weeks on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. (Register)
7:00 PM - Board of Appeals